U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 183
12 - 18 July 2003


CONTENTS:

DRC: Top EU official calls for stronger peacekeeping mandate
DRC: First element of UN "task force" arrives in Ituri
DRC-UGANDA: Ugandan government to probe ICRC deaths in Ituri 
DRC: "No turning back" as vice-presidents sworn in
CONGO: ICRC assists Pool IDP's in Brazzaville
CONGO: Court sets deadline for pleas in "Beach" case
CAR-CHAD: UN agency seeks more funds for refugees
CAR: Government dissolves Red Cross board
CAR: Security Council praises transitional process
BURUNDI: Zuma cautions rebels on more fighting
BURUNDI: NGOs protest abduction of three humanitarian workers
BURUNDI: Net Press director released
RWANDA: Government registers eight political parties ahead of polls
RWANDA: Woman nominated to vie for presidency
RWANDA: Another judge appointed to UN tribunal
KENYA/SUDAN: WFP resumes operations at Lokichokkio base
UGANDA: Sharp decline in human rights in north, report says
TANZANIA: Call to focus on youth in fight against HIV/AIDS
TANZANIA: Amnesty criticises police but says human rights situation "not bad"

ALSO SEE:

CAR: Feature - Refugees battle to survive despite food ration suspension
[full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35451]

DRC: Top EU official calls for stronger peacekeeping mandate

The EU high representative for the common foreign and security policy,
Javier Solana, called on Tuesday for a stronger mandate for the UN Mission
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, similar to
that of the multinational peace enforcement mission deployed to the
northeastern town of Bunia until 1 September.

"For us, the mandate must be very close to that of the force currently
deployed in Ituri, under Chapter Seven, which authorises strong
engagement," Solana said at a news conference in the capital, Kinshasa.

MONUC is operating under Chapter Six, which widely limits the use of
force.  [For more information on Chapter Seven, go to www.un.org].

During his visit to Kinshasa, Solana met with President Joseph Kabila and
reported that the EU and Kabila had signed an agreement on Monday whereby
the EU would provide E80 million (US $90 million) for a rehabilitation
programme for the DRC.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35406]

DRC: First elements of Ituri "task force" arrive in Bunia

The first elements of a planned 3,800-strong UN peacekeeping task force
for Ituri District have arrived in Bunia, MONUC reported on Wednesday. A
MONUC spokesman said 180 Bangladeshi soldiers had arrived, while others
were en route from Entebbe in neighbouring Uganda. Nepal and Indonesia are
among other countries who would be contributing forces.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35428]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has selected Ituri as "the most
urgent situation" under its jurisdiction to be addressed, the court
reported from The Hague on Wednesday.

According to a statement, the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina,
was analysing available information and would be seeking additional
information on crimes committed and would assess the ability of the
Congolese state to deal with them.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35464]

DRC-UGANDA: Uganda to probe ICRC deaths in Ituri

The government of Uganda has said it would reopen investigations into the
murder of six employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) that took place in April 2001 in Ituri, the government-owned daily
newspaper, The New Vision, reported on Saturday. At the time of the
murders, Ituri was under the control of the Ugandan army.

The daily quoted the Ugandan state minister for international relations,
Tom Butime, as saying that although he was satisfied with earlier
investigations conducted by Col Noble Mayombo's team in which the Uganda
People's Defence Forces (UPDF) was exonerated, he had no problem having
the probe repeated in the interest of the ICRC.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35383]

DRC: "No turning back" as vice-presidents sworn in

The four vice-presidents for the two-year transitional government in the
DRC took their oath of office on Thursday in Kinshasa.

Kabila ally and former Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi, leader
of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the
Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie movement Azarias Ruberwa, and
unarmed political opposition representative Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma vowed to
"scrupulously respect the spirit and letter of the global and inclusive
[peace] accord and of the constitution".

The 36 ministers and 24 vice-ministers drawn from Kabila's previous
government, the various armed opposition movements, the political
opposition, the Mayi-Mayi militias and civil society were to take their
oaths of office on Friday before a first meeting of the new government was
held on Saturday.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35455]

CONGO: ICRC assists Pool IDPs in Brazzaville

About 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Pool Region
currently living in eight sites in the south of Brazzaville, capital of
the Republic of Congo, have benefited from aid provided by the ICRC.

ICRC reported on Monday that it provided soap, clothing and sheets to
4,351 IDP families during a 10-day distribution effort that ended on 11
July.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35397]

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
told IRIN on 11 July it had repatriated 334 more refugees from
neighbouring Gabon to Congo.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35358]

CONGO: Court sets deadline for pleas in "Beach" case

Congo has until 11 December to file its written pleas in a case brought
against its top officials by a French court for alleged violations of
human rights, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reported from The
Hague on Wednesday.

Congo is seeking an end to investigations and prosecution measures taken
by French judicial authorities regarding complaints of crimes against
humanity and torture allegedly committed in the Congo, filed by various
human rights associations against President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and
others.

The "Beach" case is based on the events of May 1999, when thousands of
Congolese who had fled fighting in Brazzaville chose to return to the
city. Sources present at the time determined that at least 350 individuals
"disappeared" during their return from exile.

[For the complete court order go to: www.icj-cij.org]

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35426]

CAR-CHAD: UN agency seeks more funds for refugees

The UNHCR in the Central African Republic (CAR), which also covers
neighbouring Chad, requires an additional US $7 million to help CAR
refugees living in southern Chad and to repatriate others from the DRC, an
official told IRIN on Tuesday.

The request is part of a $14 million appeal by the agency's Geneva
headquarters for emergency operations in the CAR, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Rwanda, the Republic of Congo and Uganda.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35404]

CAR: Government dissolves Red Cross board

The executive board of the CAR Red Cross has been dissolved and an interim
team appointed in its place, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported on
Saturday.

In a decree heralding the dissolution, Social Affairs Minister Lea
Koyassoum Doumta accused the board of mismanagement", although she did not
give specifics.

The chairman of the dissolved board, Francois Fara-Frond, termed the
decision illegal and vowed to file a complaint.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35380]

CAR: Security Council praises transitional process

The UN Security Council praised on Tuesday the establishment of a
consensual management of the transitional period in CAR, which involves
all political factions and civil society.

Lamine Cisse, the representative of the UN Secretary-General, briefed the
15-member council on the situation in the CAR and the activities of the UN
Peace-building Support Office in the country, known by its French acronym,
BONUCA.

The council said that the restructuring of the security forces, supported
by BONUCA, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and
France, and systematic disarmament, were essential for restoring security.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35422]

Meanwhile, the CAR government said on Saturday it had sent troops to six
"priority" towns across the country in an effort to restore security and
facilitate normalisation, following the fighting between October 2002 and
March 2003 and insecurity that has persisted ever since.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35457]

BURUNDI: Zuma cautions rebels on more fighting

At the end of a brief visit to Burundi on Thursday, South African Deputy
President Jacob Zuma said that a summit planned for Sunday in the
Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam would examine how to best to punish
perpetrators of violence in the country.

Zuma, the facilitator of the country's peace process, told news agencies
that he held talks with Burundi President Domitien Ndayizeye and other
senior government and military officials.

Radio Public Africaine quoted Zuma as saying that the Burundian officials
were determined to ensure that the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL)
rebel faction led by Agathon Rwasa took part in the negotiations.

However, Zuma said Sunday's summit was only for the transitional
government and the largest rebel group in the country, the Conseil
national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la
democratie led by Pierre Nkurunziza. Another meeting to bring on board the
FNL would be convened soon, he said.

FNL staged a series of attacks in the southern suburbs of the capital,
Bujumbura, from 7 to 13 July, which the army has said resulted in the
deaths of 310 rebels and 15 government soldiers. The fighting displaced
thousands of civilians, and the UN began withdrawing non-essential staff
from the city on Tuesday. The civilian death toll has not been verified.

Zuma's visit to Bujumbura followed visits to Uganda and Rwanda for talks
with Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame on the situation in
Burundi and the Great Lakes region.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35480; also see
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35449;
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35433]

On Tuesday, the international human rights organisation Amnesty
International condemned what it said were "serious" human rights abuses
committed by government and rebels troops during the fighting. Amnesty
said unless immediate preventive action was taken, indiscriminate
reprisals by government forces against Hutus suspected of supporting or
colluding with the rebels was likely.

[The Amnesty International statement is available online at:
http://web.amnesty.org/]

BURUNDI: NGOs protest kidnap of three humanitarian workers

Seven international NGOs in Burundi have condemned the abduction of three
humanitarian workers in two separate incidents in the southern Makamba
Province.

Following the abductions on 9 and 10 July, the three NGOs that employed
the workers have suspended their operations in Makamba. The three are the
German Technical Cooperation, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the
International Rescue Committee.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35424]

BURUNDI: Net Press director released

The director of Net Press news service in Burundi, Jean-Claude Kavumbagu,
was released on 10 July, six days after being arrested for alleged failure
to sever links with a website the government had deemed to be "spreading
propaganda of hatred and violence".

Net Press termed the arrest "arbitrary". It said that all links to the
site in question, the Denmark-based Agora website, were severed by 5 July
before noon.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35384]

RWANDA: Government registers eight political parties ahead of polls

The Rwandan government has registered eight political parties ahead of
presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 25 August and 29
September respectively, minister for local government and social welfare,
Christopher Bazivamo, told IRIN on Monday.

The parties registered so far include the Front patriotique rwandais
(FPR), Parti liberal, Parti socio-democrate, Parti democrate ideal and
Parti democrate centriste. Others are the Parti syndical rwandais, Union
democratique du peuple rwandais and a new party, Parti du progres et de la
concorde.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35399]

RWANDA: Woman nominated to vie for presidency

For the first time, a woman has been nominated to contest Rwanda's
presidency. The candidate, Alvere Mukabaramba, is a medical doctor and is
from the majority Hutu community.

She was nominated on Wednesday in the capital, Kigali, by a new party,
Parti du progres et la concorde. Other presidential aspirants include the
incumbent, President Kagame. The deadline for nominations was Friday.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35461]

RWANDA: Another judge appointed to UN tribunal

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Khalida Rashid Khan from
Pakistan as a judge to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR), the tribunal reported on Monday.  Khan, 54, replaces Mansoor
Ahmed, also from Pakistan, who resigned on 22 May "for personal reasons".

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35388]

KENYA-SUDAN: WFP resumes operations at Lokichokkio base

The UN'S World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday said it had resumed food
deliveries to south Sudan from its main air base at Lokichokkio in
northwestern Kenya, after eight weeks of disruption caused by heavy
floods.

The agency said it had been forced to relocate its south Sudan food
operations to Eldoret, western Kenya, in May when a key supply bridge was
swept away by the floods.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35425]

UGANDA: Sharp decline in human rights in north, report says

Renewed fighting between government forces and the rebel Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA) over the past year has led to a sharp increase in human rights
abuses in northern Uganda, a coalition of local and international human
rights organisations said on Tuesday.

In a 73-page report entitled "Abducted and Abused: Renewed War in Northern
Uganda", the coalition said abductions, torture and forced recruitment of
child soldiers had escalated since the Ugandan army launched its military
offensive (codenamed "Operation Iron Fist") against LRA bases in south
Sudan in March 2002.

The LRA has ambushed about 8,500 children and thousands more adults since
June 2002, the report said. The LRA has also escalated its war on
civilians by targeting religious leaders, aid workers and displaced people
living in camps.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35403]

[Click here for full report: www.hrw.org]

TANZANIA: Call to focus on youth in fight against HIV/AIDS

Radical changes in approach to the youth are needed if Tanzania is to curb
the spread of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, Michael
Mochaku, of the international NGO Africa Medical and Relief Foundation
(AMREF), told IRIN on 11 July.

Mochaku said that while attitudes towards youth had developed in recent
years, and that because of the Internet the youth now had access to more
information than their parents, this was still limited to at least 15
percent of the population living in urban areas.

Tanzania's minister for labour, youth development and sports, Juma Kapuya,
said that the government had not made much headway in tackling the problem
of HIV/AIDS among the youth because of a lack of resources.

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35431]

TANZANIA: Amnesty criticises police, but says human rights situation "not
bad"

Amnesty International has criticised the Tanzanian police force over cases
of abuses of human rights such as the holding of prisoners in poor
conditions and for the use of excessive force in breaking up peaceful
demonstrations.

In its report for 2003, Amnesty also highlighted the lack of prosecutions
following an inquiry into the political killings in 2001 on the island of
Pemba, and warned that the newly enacted anti-Terrorism Act was open to
police abuse. An Amnesty spokesman said that overall the human rights
situation was "not bad", but it urged the government to ratify the
convention on torture. A police spokesman told IRIN the police were
surprised Amnesty had brought up "minor cases".

[Full story http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=35382]


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